This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
taint
1[ teynt ]
/ teɪnt /
Save This Word!
This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
noun
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
to become tainted; spoil.
QUIZ
ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?
We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.
Question 1 of 8
Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?
Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing
Origin of taint
1First recorded in 1325–75; conflation of Middle English taynt, shortened variant of attaint “struck, attainted,” past participle of attainten “to convict” (see attaint), late Middle English taynt “hue, tint” (see tint), from Anglo-French teint or directly from Latin tinctus, equivalent to ting(ere) “to dye, color“ (see tinge) + -tus suffix of verb action); and teinte, from Late Latin tincta “inked stroke,” noun use of feminine of past participle of tingere
OTHER WORDS FROM taint
un·taint·ing, adjectiveWords nearby taint
Other definitions for taint (2 of 2)
taint2
or t'aint
noun Slang: Vulgar.
the area between the testicles or vulva and the anus; the perineum.
Origin of taint
2it ain’t (the one or the other), meaning it is the area in between
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
How to use taint in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for taint
taint
/ (teɪnt) /
verb
to affect or be affected by pollution or contaminationoil has tainted the water
to tarnish (someone's reputation, etc)
noun
a defect or flawa taint on someone's reputation
a trace of contamination or infection
Derived forms of taint
taintless, adjectiveWord Origin for taint
C14: (influenced by attaint infected, from attain) from Old French teindre to dye, from Latin tingere to dye
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012